Payments Blog

Managing All Your Outsourced Bookings Under One Platform

Channel manager is a system that synchronizes availability, prices and restrictions on OTA quickly and automatically. It is an effective way of reaching a global audience without risking overbookings and client dissatisfaction. A channel manager will instantly and automatically update rates and availability on all channels, saving the property manager a lot of time and reducing booking mistakes during the reservations booking process.   

 

How it Works

This software can be used in the distribution of various accommodation types such as hotel rooms, B&B’s and small vacation rentals. It enables you to partner with large agents such as Online Travel Agents (OTA’s) as well as smaller retail agents in different markets. Your inventory is updated automatically across all your channels, so that guests have accurate information no matter where they are booking from. At its core, a channel manager creates a two-way connection between a hotel’s property management system and their chosen marketing and sales channels.

  

What To Look Out For:

Globally there are over one hundred channels which you can choose from. However, as you make a choice for your hotel, you need to select one that will line up with your operations as a business and integrates seamlessly with your existing tools. Pesapal is the only company that offers hotels a free channel manager throughout Africa. A channel manager should provide analytics and reporting tools to help you gain greater visibility into how your business is doing. It should have the ability to collect and maintain booking data across all channels and present it in charts, diagrams and other graphic forms. It should also be able to define high and low-performing channels and adjust their distribution strategy. Other factors that can inform your decision include: 

 

Size of Your Hotel:

• A big hotel will require a more powerful channel manager compared to a small one because of all the bookings that will be involved between the OTA and the hotel. You’ll also need one that has a faster processing system.

 

Current Software Used: 

• Not all applications are compatible with all channel managers. You need to find one that will integrate seamlessly with any property management system or booking engine you have already in place. 

 

Needs & Expectations:

• Before looking for a channel manager, evaluate your operations. Do you have lots of rooms and packages with differing rates based on add-ons? E.g. All Inclusive, Full Board + Activities, Child Friendly rooms. You need a channel manager that is able to deal with all these intricacies. Finally analyze how much data you need from the portal and how well your staff is able to interact with the system.

 

Budget: 

• Different channel managers have different rates based on the available features. Some may charge a setup fee while others have a maintenance cost attached to them. You need to find one that suits your budget while delivering on all your complex needs. This tool enables you to manage your hotel’s room inventory and rates and allocate availability based on your preference.
• It combines travel agents such as Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda etc enabling you to reach a larger market globally. Utilizing this tool can help you generate more leads, explore guests from different parts of the world and it helps you manage all your bookings seamlessly.

 

  

Why Use Reserveport by Pesapal?

Reserveport is an easy-to-use Central Reservations System for all types of accommodation and hotel operations. Our objective is to offer a simple online solution, which enables hotel reservations online, and at the same time, simplifies daily administration. 

Reserveport allows you to manage your hotel’s distribution on 100+ OTA’s with our real-time hotel channel manager. With Easy tools and Bulk update capabilities, you can manage your rates, availability and see your bookings in real-time – anytime, anywhere.